Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Killin’s my business and business is fine

This audiobook has monsters of impossible, mind-bending proportions. The main villain, the “Cursed One,” is not just a mwahaha villain – we also get ..Show More »inside his head through his memories in Owen’s ghost-guided dream/nightmares that recall C.O.’s journey from a “mean son-of-a-bitch” conquistador to one very megalomaniacal, unearthly, tentacled, flesh-wriggling being who is intent of stopping time itself. I think I’m in love with Owen Z. Pitt, who’s inherently epic, but it’s hard to let the listener know how epic Owen is through first-person narration without it sounding over-the-top or silly. Like when a master vampire tells Owen he has the strongest will of any mortal she’s ever met, or when one guys says to the other that he shouldn’t mess with Owen because he has “one hundred pounds of muscle” on him. Or worse yet, when Julie reads his file and we find out Owen’s a marksman/genius. This book is cliché in the best way possible. It's like 1 part monsterish gore, 1 part comedy, and 1 part all sorts of artillery. It's like Hot Fuzz.

Oliver Wyman is great. This is the first time I heard him read, and his style is perfect for Monster Hunter International. He has a rather macho tone with just a bit of immaturity, and again, the term “epic” comes to mind to describe his style. His reading of female voices didn’t make me burst out laughing, which is what usually happens when I listen to male narrators read girls’ voices. The only thing that jarred me was how seriously Oliver Wyman took those vocal direction. I usually comment on whether narrators do a good or bad job at distinguishing internal monologue with external speak when audiobooks are in first-person, like this one. The listener has no problem with distinguishing the two in Monster Hunter International, because Oliver Wyman reads the directions in a rather calm soft voice, while reading the actual words with the proper emphasis, instead of splitting the two.

Monster Hunter Vendetta

Accountant turned professional monster hunter, Owen Zastava Pitt, managed to stop the nefarious Old Ones' invasion plans last year, but as a result made an enemy out of one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Now an evil death cult known as the Church of the Temporary Mortal Condition wants to capture Owen in order to gain the favor of the great Old Ones.

Monster Hunter Alpha

Earl Harbinger may be the leader of Monster Hunter International, but he's also got a secret. Nearly a century ago, Earl was cursed to be a werewolf. When Earl receives word that one of his oldest foes, a legendarily vicious werewolf that worked for the KGB, has mysteriously appeared in the remote woods of Michigan, he decides to take care of some unfinished business.

Unexpectedly Enjoyable

I strongly recommend this book. I really enjoyed the first two in this series, but this one really caught me by surprise. Once I realized where thi..Show More »s book was headed, it had two strikes against it. It didn't involve the Monster Hunter International team, and it was a werewolf story. Earl was not one of my favorite characters, and I have no interest in werewolf stories.

But it turned out to be such an great story, expertly told, I couldn't stop listening. I even found myself cheering out loud near the end.

The narrator is a good choice and has done a good job with this series. I don't know if he was intentionally doing a "Christopher Walken" voice for Nikolai, but that voice cracked me up.

Monster Hunter Legion: Monster Hunter, Book 4

When hunters from around the world gather in Las Vegas for a conference, a creature left over from a World War Two weapons experiment wakes up and goes on a rampage across the desert. A not-so-friendly wager between the rival companies turns into a race to see who can bag the mysterious creature first. Only there is far more to this particular case than meets the eye, and as Hunters fall prey to their worst nightmares, Owen Zastava Pitt and the staff of Monster Hunter International have to stop an ancient god from turning Sin City into a literal hell on earth.

What A Shock...

I would've never thought it possible for me to love a series of books with lots of guns, violence and monsters. Now, I can't get enough.And ..Show More »I'm kind of unhappy that I've just purchased this on the 2nd day of it's release and now have to wait for the next installment.Personally, I'm holding Larry Correia and Oliver Wyman responsible; Correia weaves a fast-paced interesting tale that's surprisingly almost plausible and Oliver Wyman simply brings the men AND the women in these stories to life in a way that audiobook readers hope for with every download.

One of the best aspects of this series is that the characters are so very, very different from myself that there is very little for me to identify with and despite that, they're very real, down to earth people who could be (and probably are) my neighbors. I find myself empathizing with them and cheering them on whether they're dealing with end-of-the-world-monsters or bureaucrats. In the midst of unusual and/or challenging situations these characters are still just men and women dealing with whatever life is handing them and struggling to do the best they can; some are heroic, and some are evil-kind of like what we run into everyday. Yet it's heartening to think that there's an organization that looks for "flexible minds" and trusts in the diversity and innate humanity of most individuals. Plus I just like a story that includes werewolves and dragons based on a gun-nut accountant and his Southern Belle art lover wife who kicks ass and carries big guns. Now THAT''S quite a love story!

What I didn't like about this book? Other than the fact that it wasn't long enough and I wanted more Earl? Nothing. The story offers a compelling take on an interesting point in history; we learn a little more about an organization that doesn't officially exist as well as learn a little more about its nefarious head. We get to see the repercussions of past adventures for members of MHI as well as for those who are collateral damage like Mosh (David). This story explores the fears of the hunters and as a writers device it's brilliant-we get the back story for characters we've come to love and we also encounter characters we thought we'd lost forever while getting more information about Owen and Julie. This is solid story-telling from Correia; the story may drive the characters but it's the people he's created and that Wyman gives life and substance to that always leaves me wanting more.

Monster Hunter Nemesis

Agent Franks of the U.S. Monster Control Bureau is a man of many parts - parts from other people, that is. Franks is nearly seven feet tall and all muscle. He's nearly indestructible. Plus he’s animated by a powerful alchemical substance and inhabited by a super-intelligent spirit more ancient than humanity itself. Good thing he’s on our side. More or less.

Another Winner

If you've been following the MHI story since book 1 you either already have this or are considering getting it. In a nutshell: You want this.

..Show More »/>This story, as mentioned in other reviews, is told from the perspective of Agent Franks. Who has been a huge (no pun intended) enigma since the beginning. But here, you find out what he is, why he is, and ultimately who he is.

Its logical to make a comparison to Monster Hunter Alpha as it is focused on an individual perspective other than Owen Pitt. However it is also a very different type of story because of the nature of the "beast". And you get the usual gun/weapons "porn" that Correia does so well, and weaves into his worlds.

I won't give away the plot, but you will be re acquainted with familiar faces, and there are some welcome cameo's from MHI personnel. Be prepared for some very shocking twists that clearly set up future volumes.

I really enjoy this series. I highly recommend it. And I can't imagine why this isn't a series on HBO or a series of movies.